Biography

Alfredo Jaar is a Chilean born artist, architect, and filmmaker, who currently resides in New York. He attended Instituto Chileno-Norteamericano de Cultura, Santiago (1979), and Universidad de Chile, Santiago (1981). Jaar’s graphic documentary work features photographs, films, instillations, and community projects, exploring the complex relationships between developed and third world nations. Jaar investigates the desensitization of socio-political issues by highlighting injustices, such as gold mining in Brazil and toxic pollution in Nigeria. One of his most commonly known works is on the 1994 Rwandan genocide titled, The Rwanda Project. His public works have also included an electronic billboard intervention, A Logo For America, and a performance project on the USA-Mexico border, The Cloud. Jaar has received many awards, including a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Award (2000) and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award (1987).

Jaar’s lecture will be presented in conjunction with his exhibition: Alfredo Jaar: The Politics of Imagesat the Ryerson Image Centre, January 23 – April 14, 2013 – curated by Dr. Gaëlle Morel.